Only two players in baseball history have led their leagues in WAR more than seven times: Babe Ruth (10) and Willie Mays (nine). Ruth won a single MVP award mainly because, until 1931, once a player won the award, he no longer was eligible again.

Mays, though, won the award only twice despite full eligibility. Why? Sometimes his San Francisco Giants missed the playoffs and that was a factor, and maybe his greatness was underappreciated in his time. Whatever the reason, it’s hard not to wonder how many National League MVP voters would have been swayed had the WAR analytic been around.

WAR ratings indicate that Willie Mays may have been an underappreciated player for his time. (AP Photo)

Sometimes, the WAR gap between Mays and the MVP winner was negligible—such as in 1957, when winner Hank Aaron’s 7.7 WAR was right behind Mays’ 8.0—but sometimes, the gap was huge. In 1962, for example, Mays led baseball at 10.2, but winner Maury Wills (who stole a record 104 bases that season) was at 5.8. And in 1964, Mays finished with a 10.7 WAR, and winner Ken Boyer finished at 5.8.

Maybe Mays would have finished much closer to his godson Barry Bonds’ seven career MVP awards had WAR been available as a comparison tool.

A few other memorable MVP races through the WAR prism:

1961 AL MVP RACE

Roger Maris, famously, broke Babe Ruth’s single-season home run record with 61, and finished with a 6.7 WAR. His teammate Mickey Mantle, though, finished with a vastly superior 10.2 WAR. In the final voting, Maris received seven first-place votes and 202 points; Mantle got six first-place votes and 198 points.

1941 AL MVP RACE

Voters had to decide between two monumental seasons—Joe DiMaggio had his record 56-game hitting streak, and Ted Williams finished with a .406 average. The writers sided with DiMaggio (15 first-place votes to eight for Williams, who was never a media favorite). But the numbers side with Williams, who had a 10.1 WAR, compared to DiMaggio’s 8.6.

1951, ’53, ’55 NL MVP RACES

Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Roy Campanella won three NL MVP awards in a fantastic five-year stretch, but all three times, teammates had much better WAR numbers. In 1951, Campanella had a 6.3 WAR, but Jackie Robinson had a 9.3 WAR and finished sixth in the voting. In 1953, Campanella was at 6.8, but Duke Snider had a 9.1 WAR and finished third. In 1955, Campanella finished with a 5.0 WAR, but Snider had an 8.4 WAR and finished second. Brooklyn starting pitcher Don Newcombe matched Campanella’s 5.0 WAR and finished seventh in the voting.

1912 AL MVP RACE

Boston Red Sox center fielder Tris Speaker had an MVP-worthy season by almost any definition—9.8 WAR, 1.031 OPS, 136 runs scored, 90 RBIs, 52 stolen bases—but fireballer Walter Johnson turned in the highest modern era WAR to not win an MVP award, a jaw-dropping 14.0. In 1913, Johnson won the award with a 15.7 WAR.